Naruto Uzumaki is the third jinchūriki of Kurama — the Nine-Tails. He is gifted with its enormous supply of chakra, to which Kakashi Hatake estimated it to be a hundred times greater than his own when its influence is not suppressed.[1] Also, depending on the amount of Kurama's chakra he's using, Naruto is given an increase in strength, speed, and his healing factor are pushed to such levels that he completely recovered from a Chidori through his chest in mere moments with no lingering signs of injury.[2] At times, he is also granted a fox-shaped chakra shroud with massive invulnerability, being able to resist being pierced by Orochimaru's Sword of Kusanagi,[3] a sword known as being able to cut through adamantine, and is completely undamaged by the alkali substance excreted by Saiken, which was able to damage Gyūki and disintegrate its surroundings rapidly. Kurama was also believed to be played a role in enhancing the Uzumaki clan's healing ability that Naruto inherited from his mother.[4]

Contents

Summary

Due to the Eight Trigrams Seal that his father, Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, placed on him, it initially allowed a small amount of Kurama's chakra to always mix with Naruto's own. Kurama's chakra first came to Naruto during life-threatening situations, given to him by the fox itself to ensure its survival, but after training with Jiraiya, Naruto learned how to contact Kurama and demand some of its chakra. Alternatively, Naruto could give into his anger or frustration, allowing Kurama to force its influence upon him. Depending on how much he gained, Kurama's influence within its chakra could make Naruto lose control of his senses, devolving into an animal that attacks anything within reach, as well as damaging his own body, slowly shortening his lifespan. Although a number of methods had been devised to break its influence over Naruto (Jiraiya's seal tag,[5] and Yamato's Hokage-Style Sixty-Year-Old Technique — Kakuan Entering Society with Bliss-Bringing Hands, which was facilitated by Hashirama Senju's necklace Naruto wore before its destruction),[6][7] Naruto simply limited his use of Kurama's chakra, and tried not to allow his anger get the better of him, but he eventually attempted to exercise more control over it, in which he was able to achieve during the Fourth Shinobi World War.

After combining his chakra with Kurama's and recently developed a trusting relationship, Naruto and the fox can switch control of his body at will, allowing Kurama to speak through him.[8]

Initial Jinchūriki Form

By simply tapping into Kurama's chakra, Naruto's body begins its initial transformation. His blue eyes become red and pupils become slitted. Following this, his nails and canine teeth grow longer and sharper and his blonde hair will grow longer and spikier, as it stands on end. Naruto's whisker marks will also widen and thicken, adding to his feral appearance. While he can still stand on his own two feet, Naruto can move at greater speeds by manoeuvring on all fours in a manner that looks similar to the Four Legs Technique used by the Inuzuka clan. Depending on how much of Kurama's chakra was unleashed, it was capable of glowing around his body in an untamed way, similar to fire. Until he achieved the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, it was the only form which resembled flames.

Even though this was the weakest state of his jinchūriki forms, it still increased Naruto's physical strength,[9] and its healing rate was able to regenerate wounds that were beyond normal repair.[10] This form also increased his speed to such levels that nothing short of a fully matured Sharingan was able to track his movements. He could also use the chakra as a shock wave, sometimes merely using a roar or thrusting his fist out to send a rush of energy at his opponent.

When Naruto encountered Nagato face to face, he was shown to be able to simultaneously fuse his initial and Sage Mode forms together. His eyes took on the combined appearance of a mixture of them both. The exact capabilities of that form are unknown, but it was enough to completely resist Nagato's control of his Chakra Disruption Blades when it impaled Naruto.[11]

Version 1

Naruto in his one-tailed form, forming the Rasengan.

During Naruto's battle with Sasuke at the Valley of the End, Kurama granted Naruto more of its chakra, which enveloped Naruto's body as a bubbling chakra construct, with one tail, which Jiraiya referred to as the "demon fox cloak" (妖狐の衣, yōko no koromo).[12] Naruto's Version 1 forms had all the initial jinchūriki form's physical traits, but the black rings that surrounded his more berserk-looking eyes were also present. In this form, Naruto could use his elongated, sharpened claws instead of his fists, and run at greater speeds on all fours, making him more beast-like. The chakra itself in this form was noticeably denser than it was in its previous form, going from a gaseous state to a boiling liquid state. The chakra produced by these forms was powerful enough to cause the shadow clones Naruto produced to double over in pain.[13]

Unlike jinchūriki who have learned to control their tailed beasts, like Killer B, Naruto's transformations were almost always triggered by his emotional state. The more he was distressed, the easier it was for Kurama to manipulate him through its chakra; its control over Naruto usually corresponds with the number of tails grown. Naruto was able to reach the third tail of Version 1 and remain in control over his body, but will become highly aggressive and dangerous due to the negative influence of Kurama's chakra.

Naruto's most powerful weapon in that state was the demon fox shroud itself, and it appeared to have a mind of its own; when a strike that was meant for Sasuke missed, the chakra itself stretched off of Naruto's arm and managed to hit Sasuke before he had time to react. Since the chakra was sentient, it was extremely difficult, if not impossible, to predict, as Naruto was followed with the Sharingan, but the chakra was not. The shroud granted Naruto some measure of protection, as it could endure attacks like the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.[14] Naruto could also use the shroud's chakra arms and tail as grappling hooks to either grab onto objects or enemies from great distances, and use it as a shell to help him create a Rasengan without the help of his shadow clones. However, the shroud was not without its drawbacks; after Naruto used his left arm for a number of attacks against Sasuke, it was left numb from overuse and the constant damage of Kurama's chakra on his body.[15] Despite this, every advantage that the shroud gives Naruto increases in strength with each tail. For example, his roar that simply caused a powerful shock wave in his initial jinchūriki form, created an even more devastating wave of destruction when his third tail grew.[16] In Naruto Shippūden 2: Bonds, while fighting the Zero-Tails, Naruto was able to use the demon fox shroud to use the chakra arms as makeshift wings for semi-flight.

Version 2

During Team Yamato's mission to find Sasuke, the group found and fought Orochimaru, who continually baited Naruto with news of Sasuke. After the three-tailed form was rendered ineffective, Naruto became furious and instantly grew the fourth tail. Within his subconscious, Naruto passed through the gates of Kurama's cage and into its grasp. Its chakra burns through his skin, forming a black sphere that was mixed with Naruto's own blood until the sphere explodes, levelling the area around him and revealing Version 2. Unlike B, who has shown to be able to enter Version 2 with any number of tails, Naruto cannot achieve this form on his own, instead was forced upon his body by Kurama through the weakened seal, which allowed the fourth tail to grow. Once the sixth tail grew, the beast's skeleton began to form out of the chakra.

Naruto's six-tailed form.

Unlike the previous forms where Naruto remained in control, Kurama had complete control over Naruto's body, making him a mere endoskeleton for its chakra. The chakra's internal support became Naruto's physical mass, with every living thing in its way a target.[17] Every benefit of the Version 1 was transferred to Version 2 with massive upgrades; a simple wave of his hand was powerful enough to fire shock waves and the chakra wrapped around Naruto's body was so hot that victims were burned and poisoned by the foul chakra. Whenever Naruto was hit, a second body would form out of the chakra to attack instantly, and Kurama was able to fire a Tailed Beast Ball that was powerful enough to destroy three Rashōmon gates without losing momentum.[18] In the anime, it could generate numerous bodies, almost completely altering its own form into an amorphous blob, with which it was able to attack from all directions, and create a twister with just one slash from its claw.[19] By the six-tailed form, the chakra was so intense that Kurama was able to resist the seal of the First's necklace and force Pain's Shinra Tensei back on him. Curiously, in the anime, the six-tailed form's demon fox shroud managed to swim through and direct a body of water with its own movement without vaporising it, and also touched the Deva Path without burning him.[19]

In the end, Version 2 was Naruto's greatest downfall. Because Kurama's chakra was constantly destroying and creating new cells, it shortens Naruto's life, similar to Tsunade's Creation Rebirth. When the four-tailed form was finally repressed, Naruto needed immediate healing, as his skin was completely stripped off.[12] Naruto first slipped into this form when he was on a two-and-a-half year training with Jiraiya, who had used the key to open the seal just a crack, and for that, it allowed enough of Kurama's influence within its chakra to leak out of the seal and produce the form, in turn almost killing Jiraiya.

Naruto's seven-tailed form.

In the anime-exclusive Chikara Arc, after being overcome by Kurama's will while in an imperfect Tailed Beast Mode, Naruto underwent a transformation into Version 2. Naruto's manifestation of Kurama, which had previously been the yellow colour of his own chakra and possessed six tails, took on the colour of Version 2 and grew a seventh. Its head and hands also took on a more feral appearance, and the bones and skeletal structure that had appeared in Naruto's six-tailed form also formed, although within the construct of Kurama as opposed to outside of it. Within the construct, Naruto himself also entered a Version 2 state; when the larger manifestation later vanished, Naruto's own chakra cloak briefly took on its appearance, with seven tails and Kurama's bones visible inside of it.[20]

Partial Transformation

Naruto's partial transformation with eight tails.

As Kurama fought Pain through the six-tailed form, Naruto, within his subconscious, thought of Pain's plans for peace, and pleaded for someone to help him with a response. Through his suffering, Kurama tempted Naruto to entrust his heart to it so that it could destroy everything that was causing Naruto pain, thus distorting the seal and allowing him to go from the six-tailed form to the eight-tailed form.[21]

The size of this form was much like Kurama's, with muscle and tissue forming around the enlarged skeleton that is seen in the seven-tailed form. Though Kurama lacks its ninth tail, flesh, and fur, the tailed beast is powerful enough to break through Pain's Chibaku Tensei with brute force.[21] In the anime, for the brief time it was unleashed, it breathed a large stream of fire, which burned through the debris of the Chibaku Tensei, making it look like a meteor shower falling down toward the earth.[19]

After obtaining his Tailed Beast Mode transformation, his partial transformations have changed to reflect the unique nature of the form. He can manifest Kurama's arms, head and tails to attack or defend from just the cloak.[22][23] He could also form a full Tailed Beast Ball with just Kurama's head formed.[24]

Full Nine-Tails Form

Naruto's first attempt to attain the full Nine-Tails form.

At first, Naruto couldn't fully transform into his tailed beast when using the full extent of Kurama's chakra. This was due to the hostility that had existed between Naruto and the fox. When he attempted to transform into his full Nine-Tails form, he instead transforms into a miniature, comical version of Kurama. It was also shown that Naruto cannot maintain this form for very long, as it drains him of its chakra significantly.[25]

Nine-Tails Chakra Mode

Naruto's Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.

The Nine-Tails Chakra Mode (九尾チャクラモード, Kyūbi Chakura Mōdo)[26] is a form that Naruto gained after he separated and sealed Kurama from its chakra. He can access its chakra directly whenever he needs it without interacting with the beast at all. In doing so, he gains a chakra shroud with six magatama around his neck and two distinctive pieces of hair-like horns resembling the Sage of the Six Paths' silhouette along with a swirl design that resembles the Uzumaki clan's symbol. The colour of his eyes changes from blue to orange when he is in this form and while the demon fox shroud is red and releases chakra as acidic bubbles, this form's shroud is yellow and releases chakra as flickering flames.[27][28] While in this form Naruto's chakra signature and smell are different as noted by Neji and Kiba.[29]

The shroud's chakra arms gives Naruto greater range of attacks as well as greater dexterity and manoeuvrability to his fighting style without the use of shadow clones. The strength of the chakra arms are so great that when first using them, Naruto was able to crush stone without even trying.[39] He is also able to use the chakra arms to push himself off a platform[40] and to extend his reach,[41] where he would otherwise create a shadow clone to use as a landing point in mid-air.[42] or to propel him through the air.[43] Naruto has also used the chakra arms to help him create his Rasengan and could even use two Rasengan at the same time.[44][45] He has also used the chakra arms to create new Rasengan variants, such as the Spiralling Strife Spheres, Spiralling Absorption Sphere and the Planetary Rasengan. He can also create and throw his Wind Release: Rasenshuriken in this form by using the chakra arms in place of his shadow clones to create it. Using his chakra arms, he can guide the Rasenshuriken towards the enemy, allowing him to redirect it back at them, should the initial attack fail.[46] He can also create a miniature Rasenshuriken with just his index finger and two small chakra arms. When he mastered the Tailed Beast Ball in Tailed Beast Mode, Naruto later developed a miniature version of the technique in Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, the Super Mini-Tailed Beast Ball, which he launches at the target by using a single chakra arm, creating a very powerful explosion upon impact.[47] The power of his techniques have become so great that, unless they already have some inherent durability, such as the Third Raikage, reincarnated ninja have a hard time regenerating.[48]

However, using the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode was a huge risk as Naruto had to temporarily "shelve" his own chakra in order to use Kurama's, which allowed the fox to automatically drain Naruto's own chakra. If Kurama managed to take all of Naruto's chakra, Naruto would die. In addition, Gyūki advised him against the use of the Shadow Clone Technique, as Kurama would absorb every portion of Naruto's chakra even faster for each clone he made. Moreover, Naruto also had to be careful about the amount of time he spent in this mode as Gyūki stated that there was a limit to how much chakra Naruto managed to pull away from Kurama, implying that the converted chakra would eventually run out.[55] Despite these risks however, once Naruto entered the battlefield, he deployed several of his shadow clones while he was in this mode to the different divisions to confront the enemy White Zetsu Army,[56] and could even stay in this form for an entire night, and most of the following morning during the Fourth Shinobi World War, because — as Gyūki noted — at some point Kurama had purposely stopped taking Naruto's chakra.[57] However, due to Naruto and Kurama's recently developed friendship, this handicap is no longer an issue.

Tailed Beast Mode

By melding Kurama's unrestrained chakra together with his own while in Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, Naruto is able to enter Tailed Beast Mode (尾獣モード, Bijū Mōdo), with his shroud undergoing a drastic change. The shroud itself parts down the middle and opens up into a full-length cloak (haori), revealing a black undergarment with three magatama on each side of his high collar, whilst his seal's numerous swirl-patterns, which were located all over his body, open out into complete, dark, circles. Naruto's eyes also gain the red irides and slit pupils that were present in his first tailed beast transformations, and his whisker-markings become much thicker.

This form also allows Naruto to transform into a replica of Kurama as well as manifest parts of the beast's body, such as its head, tails, or arms. However, rather than becoming a true flesh-replica of the fox, Naruto's enhanced chakra shroud instead enlarges into a tailed beast-cloak that recreates Kurama's overall form, while retaining the exact same seal that was previously present on Naruto's body. As opposed to the normal nature of the chakra, it no longer burns those who touch it, and is also translucent, as Naruto can be seen inside the replica's head throughout the transformation.[64]

This form gives Naruto the ability to use the full extent of Kurama's power. In this state, Naruto can release a powerful shock-wave that is strong enough to knock back five fully transformed tailed beasts at once.[65] Like most other jinchūriki who can transform into their tailed beasts, Naruto is able to use the Tailed Beast Ball and was even able to create one equalling the size and power of that collaboratively formed by five other tailed beasts,[66][67] as well as fire them continuously.[68] Naruto can also use this form's tail-like chakra arms to grab five tailed beasts at once or block a Tailed Beast Ball from the Ten-Tails' initial form with minimum damage.[69][70] Naruto is still capable of using his original techniques while in this form, such as the Shadow Clone Technique. While in Tailed Beast Mode, Naruto has demonstrated the ability to create shadow clones of himself in his regular form, which can then enter Sage Mode, as well as both Nine-Tails Chakra Mode and Tailed Beast Mode all by themselves, although only the original body has demonstrated the ability to fully transform into Kurama.[71][72][73][59]

Seemingly, the only flaw to this transformation is that the length of time it can be maintained is dependent upon the link between Naruto and Kurama, with Kurama noting that they could only keep the form for five minutes during their first transformation due to the fact that they had not yet developed a perfect bond.[64] The amount of time they can consecutively maintain the form increases as the two continue to work together, extending the duration to eight minutes by the time of the Ten-Tails' revival.[74]

After Kurama had generated more chakra and gave it to Naruto, the chakra was sensed all the way in Konohagakure by Sasuke Uchiha, Suigetsu Hōzuki, Jūgo, and Orochimaru — none of which, as Orochimaru noted were sensors. The chakra produced is noted to resemble closer to Naruto's own chakra rather than just Kurama's as noted by C. The shinobi which Naruto transferred this chakra over to manifested a tailless "Version 1" cloak and gained a tremendous bolster to their techniques, such that Hinata Hyūga was able to use a simple Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm technique to deflect one of the Ten-Tails' attacks. Chōji Akimichi, upon receiving the chakra, automatically regained the weight he had lost as his body naturally converted the chakra to calories. The binding on Ino Yamanaka's Mind Body Switch Technique was also bolstered as Obito Uchiha seemed unable to break the technique. The binding on Shikamaru Nara's Shadow Imitation Technique was also strengthened to the point that it could restrain the Ten-Tails.[75]Kakashi Hatake estimated that the amount of chakra given to him by Kurama made his usage of Kamui at least three times more powerful than his own.[76] These shrouds are strong enough to protect the shinobi from Fire Release techniques as powerful as those used by Madara Uchiha and Obito Uchiha and the Ten-Tails' Tenpenchii, a blast akin to a nuclear explosion without getting damaged.[77] Not only that, but Naruto can also remotely control each individual shroud at will, such as forming tails for his allies to deflect incoming projectiles.[78]

Trivia

Initial depiction of Naruto as a nine-tailed fox.

Naruto's miniature nine-tailed fox form resembles his true form from the Naruto Manga Pilot.

When first observing Naruto's enhanced chakra shroud while in Tailed Beast Mode from behind, Kakashi Hatake momentarily mistook Naruto for his former teacher, Minato Namikaze.[79]

In the Chikara Arc, despite the fact that Naruto had not yet subjugated the Nine-Tails' power, motivated by the Tonika Village orphans' plea to save Dokku and Shiseru, Naruto temporarily assumed an incomplete version of the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode after breaking free from Kurama's influence. During his brief time in the form, Naruto was able to form an incomplete Tailed Beast Rasengan as well. He was also able to enter an imperfect version of the Tailed Beast Mode, in which his seal spread over his body, forming unique markings. Much like Tailed Beast Mode, Naruto's chakra manifested into a replica of Kurama, although it lacked legs and possessed only six tails. In addition to the shroud's tails, Naruto was capable of forming chakra arms to bind his opponents while in this state.[20]